Wigged doll head



Jan. 21, 1958 D. COHN ET AL WIGGED DOLL HEAD 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledJuly 23, 1954 INVENTOR.

' 0,4100 coy/v Janl 21, 1958 "D.'COHN ET AL 2,820,326

WIGGED ,DOLL HEAD 7 Filed July 23, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet '2:

United States Patent WIGGED DOLL HEAD David Gohn, Brooklyn, and Herbert R. Beebe, Richmond Hill,N. Y., assignors toAmericanCharacter Doll Comggnyl'lnc New York, N. Y., a corporation of. New or I Applicationjuly 23, 1954, Serial No. 445,269

8 Claims. (Cl. 46-e172) The present invention relates to a novel construction forra wiggedhea'd useable with dolls, mannikins and the like.

The-use of hair wigs separate from but attachable to dolls heads, while previouslyknown per se, is assuming increasing importancei-n the doll industry. With-dolls having rigid heads, Where implantation of hair is not feasible, hair may be implanted on flexiblewigs formed of vinyl plastic or rubber. Even when flexible heads are involved, it ista much. easier matter to implant hair on a wig and then attach that wig to a head than it isto implant'the hair vdirectly into the flexible head. In addition, public demand for dolls having hair styles corresponding to the current mode, and the changeability of the current mode in accordance with the dictates of fashion, greatly complicate the inventory and future planning problems of themanufacturer.

The wigmust, ofcourse, be securely'attached to the dollhead so as to withstand the abuse of the youthful users thereof. The method of attachment must'also be such as to be compatible with large scale operations performed by relatively unskilled personnel.

In accordance with the present invention. the doll head and the wig are so cooperatingly constructed and arranged as to satisfy the practical requirements of thesituation in a manner much more satisfactory than has been heretofore available. A wig is formed having a cup-shaped body of some suitable'form-retaining but resiliently flexible material, such as vinyl resins or synthetic .-rubbers. The shape-and form of these wig bodies may be standardized for all doll heads of agiven size irrespective of the coiffure or color of hair desired. The doll heads with which these wig bodies are to be employed, whether those headsare formed of rigid or of'flexible material, are provided with a recessed portion over the area thereof corresponding to that where hair would be seen, the shape and form of this recessed portion corresponding closely to-the shape and form. of the wig body, and the thickness of the wig body being approximately the same as the depth of the recessed portion in the head. The wigs and the doll heads are formed with specially designed interfitting portions by means of which the former may accurately be positioned on the latter, the form-retaining characteristics of the wigs serving to retain them in proper position on the heads, to which they may be more permanently secured by' means of adhesive, plastic solvent, or in any other way.

It will therefore be seen that the practice of the present invention not only reduces manufacturing costs by lowering to the vanishing point the number of rejects attendant upon individual hair tuft implantation, but also permits that type of implantation'to be employed'with rigid doll heads, where formerly this wasv thought to be impossible, from: a practical point of view. Inaddition, it: greatly eases the manufacturers problem in preparing himself six months-or more in advance for producing objects of highfashionsubject to unpredictable variations in personal taste on the; part. of thaultimate purchaser.

In order to facilitate the fixing of the wig on the doll 2 head in proper position, and to reliably hold the wig in that position untilthe adhesive or other wig-securing substance has set, the wig and the doll head may be provided with interlocking or interfitting parts, as disclosed in one embodiment here specifically illustrated.

To the accomplishment of the above,and to such other objects as may hereinafter appear, thepresent invention relates to-the structure ofa wigged doll head, as defined in-the appended claims-and as described in this specification, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is asideelevational view of a doll head formed of yieldable plastic material with the wig of the present invention in place and with the hair in normal position; Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l but with the hair drawn back in order to expose the line of junction between the head-and the wig body;

Fig. '3 is a three-quarter perspective view of the doll head of Fig; 1;

Fig.4 is a'three-quarter perspective view of a doll wig made according to-the-present invention,the view being taken from the concave surface thereof;

Fig.5 is' a rear elevational view of a doll head formed of rigidmaterial with which the wig of Fig. 4 may optionally be employed;

Fig. 6 is-a rear elevational view of the front half of a two-section doll head especially constructed for use with a Wig'of the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a rear elevational view of the other half of the doll head;

-Fig. 8-is a sideelevational view, partially'brokenaway, showing the manner in-which the head sections 0f'FigS.-6 and 7- are assembled;

-Fig.'9 is a side elevational view, partially broken away, showing the doll head of'Fig. 8 with a wig formin -position thereon, the hair being omitted therefrom for-purposes of clarity of illustration; and

Fig. 10 is a rear elevational view, on areduced scale, of the-wig form shown in Fig.9.

The doll head, generally designated 2, is show-min Figs. 13 as being formed o t-some -moldedself-sustain ingbut resiliently flexible plastic material such as a vinyl resin or a synthetic'rubber. It simulates a childs head in shape and. contour, and has a nose 4, eyes 6, mouth'8 and ears 10, all as is conventional. In the form here specifically disclosed, in which-the head is adapted to be rotatably mounted on the doll body, it is provided with a: depending neck portion 12 adapted to cooperate with. thetrunk of the doll with which it is to be associated.

The hair-bearing area'ofthe head 2' is recessed, as at' 1.4, that. area covering the rear part of the top and sides of the skull, extending around the ears 10, and over the back of the skull to a point below the ears. 'A-ledgelike surface-16 connects the recessed portion '14 with the unrecessed portion of the doll head, and preferably makes a fairly abrupt-angle with both surfaces so as to constitute asharp line or area of delimitation therebetween. As here shownthesurface 16 is substantially perpendicular to the recessed. and unrecessed head portions, but it could depart somewhat from that relationship.

The doll wig. is" formed of a capor cup-like body 18' formed of aself-sustaining but resiliently flexible material such as a vinyl resin or a synthetic rubber. The thickness of the material of the body 18 is approximately thesarne ;as1the depth of the recessed head area 14 below the unrecessed portion thereof, and is-preferabl'y slightly less than that depth. It is provided with a peripheral-edgeZO of the same contour and of substantially the same inclination as theledge-like'surface 16 --onthe doll head. The concave shape of the body 18 is such as Patented Jan. 21, 1958 3 to conform closely to the convex shape of the recessed head portion 14.

Individual strands or tufts 22 of hair pass through the body 18, the orifices through which they pass tightly gripping the tufts 22 and thus serving to retain them in position. This results from the nature of the material of which the body 18 has been formed, as has been previously described. It is usually preferred to further secure the hair tufts 22 against being pulled out from the body 18 by stitching them together inside the body 18, as indicated by the loops of stitching 24.

The wig defined by the body 18 and the hair tufts 22 may be put in place on the dollhead 2 by being fitted into the recessed portion 14 thereof, the peripheral edge 20 of the body 18 fitting snugly against the ledge-like surface 16 of the head 2, as may clearly be seen from Fig. 2. If the stitching 24 projects beneath the body 18 to any appreciable extent, the thickness of the body 18 may be reduced to a corresponding extent in order to give rise to the flush character of its outer surface with respect to the outer surface of the head 2, and the very edge portion of the body 18 may be provided with a flange 26 so that the thickness of the body 18 at its flanged portion is closely the same as the depth of the recessed head portion 14 below the unrecessed portion thereof. The wig may be held in place by adhesive, plastic solvent, or in any other way, and the hair may be arranged so as to hide the line of junctioning between the wig and the head, as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. shows a head 21 molded of rigid material and provided with a recessed portion 14 of the same shape,

and periphery as the portion 14 of the head 2 of Fig. 3. Hence it will be apparent that the same wig may be employed either with rigid or non-rigid heads.

The implanatation of the hair tufts 22, and the nature and color of the material of which those hair tufts are formed, may, of course, be widely varied from wig to wig. Since the wigs are completely open at their bottom, as is apparent from Fig. 4, the implantation of the hair tufts 22 may be very readily and rapidly accomplished without any danger to the wig body 18. Hence wigs may be made up as needed, and in any style desired, without in any way restricting or controlling the design and production of the doll heads 2 with which they are to be associated. For each doll head 2 of a given size, a recessed portion 14 of identical shape and contour will be provided, so that any wig body 18 of that size, no matter what the nature of the coilfure, may be employed therewith.

One problem which has been met with in practice is that the initial positioning of the wig body 18 and the maintaining of that body 18 in proper position during the time that the adhesive which serves to hold it to the head 2 is setting is not at all a simple matter, requires great skill on the part of the operators, and is the source of a considerable proportion of rejects. The embodiment of Figs. 6-10 is particularly designed to avoid those problems.

In that embodiment the head 2 is formed of a pair of sections 28 and 30. The front section 28 includes the nose 4, eyes 6, month 8 and ears 10. It ends along a surface 32 which curves around the ears at 34 and then extends in a substantially vertical plane relative to the head 2. That portion of the surface 32 above the ears is provided with a slot 36 positioned between the inner and outer surfaces of the head section 28. It is also provided, at its interior, with a plurality of bosses 38 having apertures 40 extending substantially perpendicularly with respect to the surface 32.

The rear head section 30 has its forwardly facing surface 42 shaped complementally to the surface 32 of the front head section 28 and has concave portions 44 within which the surfaces 34 of the front head section 28 are received. It too is provided on its interior with a plurality of bosses 46 positioned to oppose the bosses 38 on the front head section 28, the bosses 46 having pins 48 projecting therefrom and adapted to be received within the apertures 40 in the bosses 38 so as to secure the two head sections 28 and 30 together in proper orientation. Each of the head sections 28 and 30 is provided with a horizontally concave bottom edge 50 which together define the neck opening for the head when the head sections are assembled.

As may best be seen from Fig. 8, the outer surfaces of the two head sections 28 and 30 are not contiguous over the entire length of the lines along which they meet. In particular, the surface 32 of the front head section 28 above the cars 10 and a portion of the surface 34 around the ears 10 project above the upper surface of the rear head section 30, thus defining a ledge-like surface 16a, and the slot 36 which is formed in that ledge-like surface 16a is also above the outer surface of the rear head section 30. The rear head surface 30 is itself provided with a ledge-like surface 16b which smoothly joins the corresponding surface 16a in the front head section 28, the surfaces 16a and 16b together outlining the recessed area 14a (see Fig. 8). Apertures 52 are formed in the rear head section 30 spaced along the length of the surface 16b.

The wig body 18a (shown in Figs. 9 and 10 without the hair for purposes of clarity of illustration) is shaped to fit over the rear head section 30 and within the recessed area 14a, the thickness of the wig body 18a preferably being somewhat less than the height of the ledge-like surfaces 16a and 16b in order to provide clearance for the stitching loops 24 when the strands or tufts 22 of hair" are secured to the wig body 18a, this clearance being represented by the reference numeral 54 in Fig. 9. The wig body 18a is provided on its front upper surface with a projecting rim 56 adapted, when the body 18a is placed in position, to be received within the slot 36 in the front head section 28, and the lower edge of the wig body 18a is provided with a plurality of tongues 58 adapted to pass through the slots 52 in the rear head section 30. By reason of the thus described interengagement between the Wig body 18a and the head sections 28 and 30, the wig body 18a, when once put into proper position, will remain in that position, it being remembered that the wig body 18a is preferably formed of some selfsustaining but resiliently flexible material. In order to insert the tongues 58 in the slots 52 after the rim 56 has been inserted into the slot 36, this being the preferable sequence'of operations, the Wig body 1811 will have to be distorted, and when it has resiliently returned to its normal condition its own self-sustaining nature will cause the rim 56 and tongues 58 to remain within the slot 36 and apertures 52 respectively.

Consequently when adhesive is used to fix the wig body 18a within the recessed portion 14a, it will not be necessary to provide external means, either manual or mechani cal, to hold the wig body 18a in position while the adhesive is setting.

In order to further ensure accurate positioning of the wig body 18a in the recessed portion 14a, so that the peripheral edges of the Wig body 18a closely abut the ledge-like surfaces 16a and 16b, the rear head section 30 may be provided, at one or more points within the recessed portion 14a, with an upstanding projection 60' which preferably extends above the outer surface of the recessed portion 14a by a distance substantially no greater than the height of the ledge-like surface 16a, and the wig body 18a is provided with an aperture 62 into which the projection 60 is snugly receivable when the wig body 18a is properly positioned on the recessed area 14a. While the projection 60 may be formed integral with the rear head section 30, it is preferred that the head section 30 be molded with an aperture 64, the projection 60 being formed as part of a headed stud 66 which is inserted into and snugly fits withinthe. aperture 64.

By practicing the teachings of the present invention the problems of the doll manufacturer are greatly simplified, since the fabrication of the doll heads is made entirely independent of the fabrication of the hair-bearing portions thereof, and the attachment of hair to the wig body 18 is also facilitated. In addition, particularly with respect to the embodiment of Figs. 610, proper and expeditious attachment of the wig body 18a to the head 2 is facilitated.

While but a limited number of embodiments of the present invention have been here disclosed, it will be apparent that many variations may be made therein, all within the scope of the instant invention as defined in the following claims.

This application is a continuation-in-part of Application Ser. No. 409,357 of February 10, 1954 entitled Wigged Head for a D011 or the Like, now abandoned.

We claim:

1. A hollow doll head having a recessed portion substantially over the area thereof adapted to be covered by hair, said recessed portion having a peripheral configuration defined at the front part thereof by a first surface extending from the recessed to the non-recessed head portions and making an abrupt angle with each, said surface having a slot opening therethrough and extending into the body of said head in substantially the same direction as the plane of said head thereat and beneath the upper surface of said non-recessed head portion, said peripheral configuration being defined at the rear part thereof by a second surface extending from the recessed to the nonrecessed head portions, said second surface having an aperture extending through said head to the hollow interior thereof, and a wig insert secured in and substantially filling said recess, said insert being formed of resiliently flexible plastic material and having a peripheral edge adapted to substantially abut said first and second head surfaces, and hair carried by said insert, said insert hav ing a first projection received within said slot and a second projection received within said aperture and extending into the hollow interior of said head, said second projection extending from said insert a sufiicient distance so that when said first projection is in said slot said insert must be deformed to permit said second projection to enter said aperture, the return of said insert to its normal condition conforming to said recessed portion causing said second projection to move further into said aperture.

2. The doll head of claim 1, in which said slot is elongated and substantially continuous, said first projection is substantially coextensive therewith, said second surface has a plurality of apertures spaced along the length thereof, and said insert has a corresponding number of second projections correspondingly positioned.

3. The doll head of claim 2, in which said recessed portion has a projection extending up therefrom adjacent said first surface for a distance not substantially greater than the depth of said recessed portion, said insert having an aperture into which said projection is received.

4. The doll head of claim 1, in which said recessed portion has a projection extending up therefrom adjacent said first surface for a distance not substantially greater than the depth of said recessed portion, said insert having an aperture into which said projection is received.

5. A hollow doll head having a recessed portion substantially over the area thereof adapted to be covered by hair, said recessed portion having a peripheral configuration defined at the front part thereof by a first surface extending from the recessed to the non-recessed head portions and at the rear part of said recessed portion by a second surface extending from the recessed to the non recessed head portions, said second surface having an aperture extending through said head to the hollow interior thereof, and an insert secured in and substantially filling said recessed portion, said insert being formed of resiliently flexible plastic material and having a peripheral edge adapted to substantially abut said first and second head surfaces, and hair carried by said insert, said first head surface and the corresponding surface of said insert having interfitting portions which fix the relative positions of said insert and said head both longitudinally and vertically, said insert having a projection received within said aperture in said head and extending into the hollow interior of said head said projection extending from said insert a sufiicient distance so that when said interfitting portions of said first head surface and said insert are engaged said insert must be deformed to permit said projection to enter said aperture, the return of said insert to its normal condition conforming to said recessed portion causing said projection to move further into said aperture.

6. The doll head of claim 5, in which said second head surface has a plurality of apertures spaced along the length thereof, said insert having a corresponding number of projections correspondingly positioned.

7. The doll head of claim 5, in which said first surface extends substantially from ear to ear of said head over the top thereof and faces substantially rearwardly and in which said second. surface extends substantially from ear to ear across the back of said head and faces substantially upwardly, and in which said recessed portion has a projection extending up therefrom adjacent said first surface for a distance not substantially greater than the depth of said recessed portion, said insert having an aperture into which said projection is received.

8. The doll head of claim 5, in which said recessed portion has a projection extending up therefrom adjacent said first surface for a distance not substantially greater than the depth of said recessed portion, said insert having an aperture into which said projection is received.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 129,086 Benda July 16, 1872 397,463 Kubelka Feb. 5, 1889 1,413,263 Dallwig Apr. 18, 1922 1,668,045 Byrne May 1, 1928 2,059,043 Schwerner Oct. 27, 1936 2,175,693 Iacoby Oct. 10, 1939 2,391,131 Clark Dec. 18, 1945 2,636,460 Seiderman Apr. 28, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 130,942 Germany May 29, 1902 27,919 Great Britain A. D. 1904 214,342 Germany Oct. 9, 1909 

